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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23967694">Home</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreeShavocadoo/pseuds/FreeShavocadoo'>FreeShavocadoo</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Last Kingdom (TV), The Warrior Chronicles | The Saxon Stories - Bernard Cornwell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff, Multi, OT4, They are all in love with each other and you cannot prove me wrong, Warriors in Love, lots of fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:54:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,946</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23967694</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreeShavocadoo/pseuds/FreeShavocadoo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It had always been a great source of curiosity for Saxons and Danes alike, Uhtred of Bebbanburg and his ragtag group of men. Nobody could be blamed for their questions about the group, as they seemed to have only one thread of commonality to them – their love and devotion for Uhtred.</p><p>What was usually ignored, however, was their devotion to each other.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Finan/Sihtric (The Last Kingdom), Finan/Sihtric/Uhtred of Bebbanburg, Finan/Sihtric/Uhtred/Osferth, Finan/Uhtred of Bebbanburg, Sihtric/Uhtred of Bebbanburg</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>168</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had always been a great source of curiosity for Saxons and Danes alike, Uhtred of Bebbanburg and his ragtag group of men. Nobody could be blamed for their questions about the group, as they seemed to have only one thread of commonality to them – their love and devotion for Uhtred.</p><p>What was usually ignored, however, was their devotion to each other.</p><p>Finan and Uhtred had been bonded for life in their shared experience of slavery, feeling the cruelty of the waves lashing against a ship they were forced to keep afloat whilst they felt like they were drowning, the crack of the whip ever present as their fingers were cut to the bone. Sharing such an experience together, alongside the healing process that came afterwards, had naturally forged an unbreakable bond between the two.</p><p>They were inseparable, Finan always close behind Uhtred at every moment, wiping away his tears and comforting him in a way Uhtred would have felt too vulnerable to allow with anyone else. They moved as one, always.</p><p>Sihtric had been unexpected.</p><p>Nobody would have thought there would be anything worth trusting in Kjartan’s bastard son, as they were all too familiar with the cruelty of Kjartan and the men he kept close. Sihtric’s words seemed hollow, the words of a captured man attempting to keep his own life. When Sihtric had held a sword up to Halig’s throat to bargain for his life by declaring his wish to serve a true warrior, Uhtred could see the strength in his eyes.</p><p>Sihtric had reminded Uhtred in a way of his younger self. Eager to please, more of an observer than a man of swift action and longing to be a part of something bigger such as a family. Sihtric had seemed so small and easily dismissed back then, before he’d blossomed into a confident, if not self-depreciative and wily, young man. His smile was as radiant as the sun and his eyes no longer held constant pain and fear.</p><p>Though they were always on the same wavelength, Finan had taken more convincing to trust Sihtric. After all, Uhtred had a habit of trusting people that would turn on him or use him, and Finan had wrongly and regrettably held Kjartan’s personality beside Sihtric’s being, forgetting that a son is not his father and that an environment does not make a man.</p><p>By the time Osferth had come along, the bonds between the three men had become so entangled it was hard to tell where one began and the other ended. This only seemed to set Osferth on edge, as an already withdrawn and God-fearing boy who seemed to wish he could shrink into his shadow the second Uhtred raised his voice.</p><p>It wasn’t as though Uhtred enjoyed the aggression he aimed at the boy, but soft words do not make a warrior in a matter of months. If the boy was to travel with them and stay alive, he could not mother him into greatness or safety. Even with this awareness, Uhtred couldn’t help but attempt to convey this to Osferth in their quieter moments, finding comfort in the fact that Osferth respected him enough not to take it personally.</p><p>By contrast, Finan and Sihtric seemed to take it entirely upon themselves to act as Osferth’s emotional safety blanket. For a man so fast to brash words and abrasive humour, Finan was the first to stand in Osferth’s defense, with Sihtric always close behind. When he wasn’t bringing Osferth food after he’d been wounded in battle, he was giving firm words of encouragement to him.</p><p>There was a quieter comradery between Sihtric and Osferth. Though Sihtric had shown he was hardly shy as he’d spent more time with Uhtred and Finan, he was a much calmer presence by comparison, which was very compatible with Osferth’s religious introspection. Neither ever spoke poorly of the others faith and were often seen sat off together in the distance, sharing curiosities of old folk tales or their amusements over each other’s religion in a relaxed fashion.</p><p>It had been a while since they’d been able to settle in Coccham. The winter had descended fast by their return, and the villagers had only stepped out briefly to welcome Uhtred back with haste, which they could all find little issue with when they had ensured there was dry wood ready to be placed in the hearth in the great hall.</p><p>A chorus of sighs echoes across the cold walls when they hastily close and bar the doors behind them, certain that no villager will be making the journey to the hall with the heavy snowfall and gusty winds outside, shrouding the town in darkness and making the candle flickers seem oddly dramatic in their projections across the walls.</p><p>Uhtred is the first to move towards the hearth, making quick work of lighting a healthy amount of logs and shedding his furs to sit beside the warmth, discarding his armour as well. It was a vast contrast to the Uhtred that both Saxon and Dane perceived, here he is calm and subdued in his movements, gesturing for Osferth to sit closer to the hearth as the one in their group who tended to suffer the cold the most.</p><p>He seems to be, even after all of their time together, flattered when Uhtred manoeuvres fur around his shoulders softly, patting Osferth’s cheek and laughing.</p><p> “We do not need you succumbing to the cold and having Finan demand we cleanse the hall because he is convinced you’ve died of the sickness.”</p><p>When Osferth laughs, Finan shoots him a subdued glare, the one that is only reserved for Osferth, as opposed to the downright terrifying glare he’d give Uhtred or Sihtric when they’d put their own lives in danger.</p><p>Whilst Uhtred speaks in hushed tones to Osferth, both leaning towards the warmth of the hearth and practically both beneath the same fur cloak they are sitting so close to one another, Sihtric moves closer to Finan’s side.</p><p>“Do you feel better now?” He asks, fingers brushing against Finan’s bare forearms, raising goosebumps in his wake.</p><p>Finan stares questioningly, before recognition crosses his face. “With everything that’s happened between now and then, you’d hope so.”</p><p>Sihtric can’t help but feel urged to ask the question though, as now that all has calmed and Winchester is in the right hands, all he can think about is Finan’s fear of the sickness.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>It was unlike Finan to panic.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The man was abrasive, brash and excessively energetic at the best of times, filling any once silent room into one of laughter and banter. Seeing his eyes flicker with fear, his pupils blown wide and a hushed silence fall upon him unsettles them all, but it places a feeling of immense protectiveness in the pit of Sihtric’s stomach.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He knows that Uhtred’s calm words of reassurance as he squeezes Finan’s hand will only placate him for a while, and once their feet are falling across uneven ground once more, Sihtric can see the tension in Finan’s shoulders as he stares back towards Stiorra with equal part suspicion and fear. It takes every fibre of Sihtric’s being to ignore the impulse to run over to Finan immediately. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>It’s no surprise that whilst he and Osferth lay in the tall grass, holding intermittent conversation, that he sees the Irishman’s head bobbing up and down in the distance as he searches.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>For what, exactly, Sihtric is uncertain.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He’d resisted the urge to laugh when it had dawned on him that Finan had not laughed at him or Uhtred for fearing Skade’s curse the way they had, nor had he made Sihtric feel foolish for his aggression towards it simply because he was acting out of fear. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>All of them felt fear, that much was certain.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Yet in a smaller part of Sihtric’s mind, he’d still assumed Finan was a man who couldn’t feel fear. He stood tall and unwavering, like a pillar of stone, always reliable and formidable. He hadn’t needed to earn respect from Sihtric when they’d first met, as the man all but demanded it from everyone around him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Seeing him kneeling down in the grass with a feverish air about him is the last straw, though.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He wades through the taller grass, letting it brush against his fingertips as he moves closer to Finan, who is mumbling rather nonsensically, which Sihtric can only assume means he’s completely succumbed to religious scripture to try and comfort himself. Not that it seems to be easing him whatsoever.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Finan.” Sihtric’s voice is gentle, his voice gentler still as he squeezes the man’s shoulder as he kneels in the grass still.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He flinches slightly before relaxing into the touch, something that Sihtric is painfully aware of as a role-reversal. There was a time Finan would have to make sure he woke Sihtric gently, or warned him before initiating physical contact, lest he wish Sihtric jump out of his bones with the look of a man who had seen a ghost on his face.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sihtric sits in the grass, watching Finan with a shrewd gaze, one which Finan only seems to notice after a few more minutes of mumbling have passed. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You’d be scared too!” He says with indignation, as though Sihtric had been mocking him by sitting and watching his actions. “You’d be scared if you’d seen what I’d seen.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sihtric stares with furrowed eyebrows. “Why would you assume that you have to explain your fear to me?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The question gives Finan pause, as he finally sits down in a rather sorry slump. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I’ve seen the way you’re all looking at me,” it’s as though in offence his accent has grown even more apparent, “like I’m crazed.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sihtric shuffles closer to Finan’s side, gently brushing his fingers over the top of Finan’s hand that is lying flat atop the grass.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Everyone fears something.” Sihtric squeezes Finan’s hand firmly, staring at him with warm eyes. “Why would I hold your fear against you, when you have accepted mine more than once?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Finan huffs, as though he wishes he had a reason to be angry with Sihtric, even though he was notoriously bad at holding a grudge against him for a multitude of reasons.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You’ve brought me great comfort on more than one occasion, and you have never mocked me.” Sihtric’s voice is firm, his gaze sharp, as though he’s willing Finan to challenge him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Rather, Finan decides he’s no longer able to pretend he’s angry with Sihtric. He settles instead for knocking him onto his back on the grass in a rather ungraceful display of affection, nuzzling his head against Sihtric’s neck as he laughs at Finan’s sudden change in demeanour. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>When Sihtric’s fingers curl into his hair, gently stroking it, Finan relaxes into the touch as he lies on Sihtric like a fur blanket. All of the tension disappears from his shoulders as he melts into the touch. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>With a soft sigh, Finan leans down to kiss Sihtric, much calmer and more deliberate than their usual frantic pace in which they couldn’t get enough of each other. No. This was slow, as though Finan was subduing his fear by letting his words die out against Sihtric’s lips instead.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>They stay like that for a while, lost in the calmness of their fingers buried into each other’s hair and clothing, not weighed down by immediacy or the threat of being found, enjoying what felt like an eternity in tall grass that frightened Finan less and less by the minute.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Although…if it means you’ll jump on me again, by all means-,” Finan begins, with a smug look on his face.</p><p>“<em>Me </em>jump on <em>you</em>?” Sihtric can’t help the indignation in his voice. He knows he’s being goaded and yet can’t stop himself from getting irrational about it.</p><p>“Sihtric,” Finan’s tone is laced with mockery, “you can’t keep your hands off me!”</p><p>Osferth and Uhtred seem to be broken from their quiet conversation, turning in unison just in time to see Finan nearly pushed over a table as Sihtric shoves him violently, Finan’s hands tangled in Sihtric’s cloak bringing them both to a heap on the floor with a loud thud.</p><p>Whilst Osferth stands immediately with concern, Uhtred simply laughs as he watches the pair roll around on the floor, playfighting each other, albeit with more violence than most would tolerate.</p><p>“Lord?” Osferth’s tone is still concerned, though he begins to smile himself when Finan’s head is thudded against the wooden floor by a laughing Sihtric.</p><p>Uhtred tickles Osferth’s neck fondly. “Leave them to it, you know what they’re like.”</p><p>Pure adoration seems to cross both Osferth and Uhtred’s faces, whether at each other or at the display of boyish behaviour from Finan and Sihtric, it is unclear, though likely to be both.</p><p>“You’ve come a long way.” Uhtred stares at Osferth, pride evident in his smile.</p><p>Even after all of this time, Osferth seems shy at the praise, even though he holds eye contact with Uhtred and gives him a smile, reminding Uhtred even more how much Osferth has grown before him.</p><p>Their little monk had been the one to calmly look after Aethelflaed’s daughter in their absence and watch over her. Even more startlingly, he’d been the one to calm Sihtric when they’d all been left to die as the blood rushed to their heads, elevating from a tree thanks to Haeston.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Sihtric!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em> Uhtred tries to keep the fear out of his voice but he cannot. The combination of the sudden ambush and the blood rushing to his head and pounding in his ears has made him frantic as well, worsened when he manages to twist his body and see Sihtric’s eyes flickering in and out of consciousness.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Sihtric!” He tries to be more assertive this time and can hear Finan’s attempts at getting down from the tree and knows he’s too far away to help Sihtric anyway. “Keep your eyes open!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Osferth’s calm voice breaks through the sounds of struggle.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Sihtric,” his voice is soft, not dissimilar to the one both he and Sihtric use for the horses, “you have to stay awake.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>As though being slowly coaxed from his stupor, Uhtred can see Sihtric’s eyes struggling to flicker open properly as Osferth turns himself as best he can to face Sihtric, reaching out to grasp him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You’ll be okay,” he comforts, Sihtric’s breathing slowing to a more reasonable pace, “just keep your eyes open.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Uhtred can’t describe the feeling of relief when Eadith runs from behind the trees, axe in hand.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Take Sihtric down first!” He demands, appreciating the swiftness with which Eadith manages to cut Sihtric and Osferth down in quick succession, watching as Osferth cradles the back of Sihtric’s head, helping him to sit upright.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>As though he’s finally awake, Sihtric grasps onto Osferth’s arms as he comes back to life, standing immediately.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It would seem their baby monk had performed a small miracle of his own.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Uhtred is snapped from his reverie when he hears a series of Gaelic, knowing immediately that this meant Sihtric and Finan’s playfighting had moved to something entirely different. Walking over quietly, he kicks them both firmly, laughing at the way they both stare at him indignantly.</p><p>“What was that for, lord?” Finan says, breathlessly and with flushed cheeks, his hair a wild mess and a bite mark already blooming on his neck.</p><p>Sihtric looks smug, clearly he had used his wily ways to throw Finan off guard the second he felt he was losing their little fight. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d done it to Finan, and Uhtred had fallen victim to it in their sparring on more than one occasion. Sihtric was a cunning warrior and lover, add a pair of beautiful eyes and high cheekbones to the mix and it was a deadly combination.</p><p>He drags Sihtric to his feet, shaking his head. “You cannot do that every time you think defeat is imminent.”</p><p>“Lord,” Sihtric’s eyes glimmer, no longer looking at the floor and mistaking Uhtred’s jests for an excuse to berate or hurt him after a childhood of abuse, “I don’t do that with <em>everyone</em>, do I?”</p><p>“We’d probably have gotten ourselves into a lot more trouble if you had.” Osferth states so plainly, Uhtred can’t help the barking laughter that escapes his mouth, Osferth looking pleased with himself.</p><p>“Yes, Lord, you’re right,” Finan stands, still looking moderately dazed, “we should’ve had Sihtric kiss our way out of Haeston stringing us up!”</p><p>Before he can even laugh at his own joke, Sihtric smacks him over the back of the head with narrowed eyes, before snorting at Finan’s surly expression. The two embrace, holding each other so earnestly that Uhtred can do little but smile fondly, his heart aching with fulness.</p><p>They’d been through a lot together, after all.</p><p>As though sensing Osferth’s slight jealousy, Uhtred wraps an arm around his shoulders and brings him in for a delicate hug, encompassing the man’s smaller frame with his own and placing a small kiss on Osferth’s cheek.</p><p>Unlike Finan and Sihtric, both brazen in their own ways when it came to affection, Osferth still struggled with seeking it and giving his own. Uhtred knows too well the demons Osferth wrestles with when he acknowledges his affections for them all, and he immensely respects him for relaxing into his embrace regardless.</p><p>Finan sneaks up behind Osferth, wrestling him into a bear hug that Sihtric eagerly latches onto as well, arms everywhere as Osferth meekly complains in a way even he is sure to see as futile, laughter echoing across the walls.</p><p>It was good to be home.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>We got fed so much quality OT4 content in season 4. Whether it was Osferth and Sihtric lazing around in the sun, Finan hugging and comforting Uhtred AND threatening to hurt whoever had bruised Uhtred, or Sihtric jumping down from ceilings to impress and scare Uhtred, or even Finan bewildering Sihtric with cup tricks whilst Osferth smiles fondly..... The list is endless.</p><p>Anyone who says this group isn't in love is a dirty liar!!</p><p>Feedback always appreciated (:</p></blockquote></div></div>
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